(NaturalNews) Calories are calories, no matter where they come from. People are fat because they don't exercise enough. Eating low-fat foods will help you lose weight. These and many other common dietary myths are no longer part of Sweden's official guidelines for healthy living, as the Scandinavian country has reportedly become the first Western nation in the world to officially embrace a high-fat, low-carbohydrate dietary protocol as optimal for good health.

According to Health Impact News, Sweden decided to scrap its former low-fat diet dogma, which is still embraced by the U.S. and most other Western countries, after an independent committee comprised of doctors and other health experts determined it to be total quackery. This committee, known as the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment, pored through tens of thousands of studies published on the subject through May 31, 2013, to arrive at this conclusion, which corroborates with what many in the natural health community have been saying for years.

"Butter, olive oil, heavy cream, and bacon are not harmful foods," reads an English translation of a local Swedish newspaper, reporting on the committee's findings. "Quite the opposite. Fat is the best thing for those who want to lose weight. And there are no connections between a high fat intake and cardiovascular disease."

These incredibly bold statements fly in the face of mainstream dietary dogma, especially in the U.S., where chemical and pharmaceutical companies hold significant influence over health policy. But they are true nonetheless and show that at least some countries are taking seriously the copious scientific evidence proving fats to be beneficial, and refined sugars and processed flours detrimental.

"When all recent scientific studies are lined up the result is indisputable: our deep-seated fear of fat is completely unfounded," says Prof. Frederik Nystrom, one of the committee members who commissioned the study. "You don't get fat from fatty foods, just as you don't get atherosclerosis from calcium or turn green from green vegetables."

One major finding of the committee was that carbohydrates are directly responsible for raising blood sugar levels and promoting weight gain. Unlike fats, carbs tend to raise blood sugar levels, leading to excess production of insulin and eventually diabetes, as well as increased triglyceride levels. And carbs are what actually make people fat, not fats, as is commonly believed.

"For a long time, the health care system has given the public advice to avoid fat, saturated fat in particular, and calories," writes Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, a popular Swedish doctor, on her blog DietDoctor.com. "This report turns the current concepts upside down and advocates a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, as the most effective weapon against obesity."

Prof. Nystrom says individuals need to start rejecting all the high-carb foods that the government has been telling them for years to keep eating, and instead focus on eating more fats. He also believes governments have done a great disservice to public health by constantly blaming obesity on lack of exercise, which is just one small piece of the obesity puzzle.

"This kind of nonsense has people with weight problems feeling bad about themselves, as if it were all about their inferior character," he is quoted as saying. "For many people a greater intake of fat means that you'll feel satiated, stay so longer, and have less of a need to eat every five minutes. On the other hand, you won't feel satiated after drinking a Coke, or after eating almost fat free, low-fat fruit yogurt loaded with sugar. Sure, exercise is great in many ways, but what really affects weight is diet."

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